Eyes Open, Mouth Shut
by Evenmoor
Summary: A few weeks after the historic moon landing, an FBI agent from Washington shows up in Colorado Springs, asking questions about a recent incident involving four Soviet spies captured in Cheyenne Mountain.


**Date: August 15, 1969**  
><strong>Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado<strong>

It wasn't difficult for Canton to track his quarry to a bar in Colorado Springs. Then again, he wasn't trying to hide.

"Lieutenant Hammond?" he addressed the young man huddled by himself, nursing a drink. The lieutenant glanced up at him, startled.

"And who are you?" he replied in a Texas drawl.

Setting down his jacket with a smirk, Canton sat down next to him, showing the young officer his credentials. "Special Agent Canton Delaware, FBI. I wanted to ask you a few questions about an incident involving four intruders in Cheyenne Mountain."

A peculiar light came into Hammond's eyes. "Why is the FBI asking me about this? Everything that happened is in my report."

Oh, yes, the report. "I read your report. It was about four lines long, and gave no explanation as to how the prisoners freed themselves and escaped under your watch." Actually, Canton had a pretty good idea how they came to be free; he was more interested in figuring out how they incapacitated all the guards without causing any real injury, not even a bruise.

The lieutenant's lips twisted slightly. "You should probably talk to Major Thornbird, sir. All I did was get knocked unconscious."

Canton snorted. "Oh, I've talked to Major Thornbird. After ten minutes with him, I was left wondering about the future of this country." _Future_. How apropos. "You were alone with the prisoners for several minutes before they... inexplicably freed themselves. Don't tell me they didn't engage you in conversation."

"No, sir," Hammond said firmly. "They were foreign agents. I had a duty to guard them, not chat with them."

"Really." The kid was a pretty good liar when it came down to it. "They didn't, oh, I don't know, try to convince you to free them because they were time travelers from sometime around thirty years in the future?"

The lieutenant, who had finally raised his glass to his lips, froze. His eyes narrowed as they stared at Canton over the rim. "What the hell are you talking about, sir?" he asked after a moment.

Canton fished out a small bag from his pocket. He dumped its single content onto his palm and extended it to Hammond, who examined it.

"It's a quarter, sir," he stated, unimpressed.

"Of course it's a quarter, lieutenant," Canton replied impatiently. "Take a look at the date."

Though the coin was somewhat worn, clear as day across the bottom of the face side it read **1995**.

"Turns out, the airman who was supposed to be guarding the items taken from your prisoners was something of a sneak-thief. He pocketed the quarter, so it wasn't lost with the rest of the items. Afterwards, however, his conscience got the better of him and he turned it in, along with a pair of dog tags he purloined, as well. Interestingly, the social security numbers on the tags are genuine - and they match the names on the tags. Only, the individuals in question are about thirty years too young to be the people captured in Cheyenne Mountain." He took the coin back and returned it to the bag, secreting it back in his pocket. "Interesting coincidence, isn't it?" he said flatly.

"Yes, sir," said Hammond, his face expressionless.

Canton admired young man for his ability to keep the secret, even from him, though he supposed that saying anything would be akin to admitting to a complete loss of one's sanity. "Look, Lieutenant. It's _my_ belief that these people you assisted were most definitely _not _Soviet spies, as Major Thornbird is convinced they were, but that they're exactly who their dog tags claimed them to be. Americans, who somehow slipped through a crack in time and ended up in their relative past by accident."

Lieutenant Hammond took a long sip of his beer. "I hope you didn't tell your friends in Washington that theory, sir, because it's downright crazy." Canton, however, caught the glint in the younger man's eyes - he'd hit the nail on the head. That was all he needed to know - the incident at the armory several days ago fit perfectly.

The FBI agent stood, picking up his jacket, and locked gazes with the young Air Force Officer. "Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, Lieutenant," he said. It was both a warning and good advice. "There are a lot of things out there that we can't explain yet. Your encounter is one of them. Good luck."

With those parting words, Canton left Lieutenant Hammond behind and vanished into the mists of history.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I do not own the characters or the series from which they come. I was intrigued by the possibilities offered by the impressive proximity of both episodes in question, however!


End file.
